It really is a different time we’re living in right now, especially in terms of money and spending. Everyday costs are astronomical. At times, you might feel as though you’re getting a little bit ahead one week, and come the next an unexpected expense pops up and you’re back at square one with minimal savings.
One thing you have to continually think about nowadays is how you can cut down on everyday costs to help your savings start to accumulate. Even though that may feel like an impossible task because you’ve tried to cut down in the past and you really haven’t seen those gains, we’ve come up with a few tried and true ways that should make a difference, especially in the long run.
Without further ado, let’s start to see those flashy dollar bill signs appear in your eyes again with these eight sneaky ways you can immediately save money as a family.
1. Meal plan and batch cook at the beginning of every week.
We've all been there as parents. Come Wednesday night, between a stressful work schedule, the kids, and those extracurriculars that stack up, some weeks the last thing you want to think about is figuring out what to cook for dinner for everyone. Routine takeout orders get expensive, especially with all those extra fees, delivery costs, and tipping. This is where meal planning and batch cooking come into play.
Meal planning gets a bad rap at times, but it saves you loads of money. If your kids are a little bit older, this is the time to spend your Sunday afternoon getting everyone in the kitchen. You can pick out recipes together and assign each person an easy meal to make that will provide leftovers for at least a couple of weekday meals.
Anything from chicken tacos to hearty minestrone are super easy for most people to make and they'll immediately save you money and time when it gets to the middle of the week and you’re feeling completely uninspired in the kitchen.
2. Use free community services as a family every week, like the library.
When you’re a parent who’s looking for things for the family or kids to take part in, whether that's group activities or pure entertainment, it can seem like whenever you step out of the house nowadays, you immediately spend at least $100.
Luckily, there are places like libraries and community centers that are completely free to the public and they usually offer a variety of fun and engaging activities for the entire family. For those who are trying to save money, it makes sense to cut back in these areas and sign your kids up for more affordable extracurriculars, such as some of their school house league sports or clubs, because you’re not only teaching your child how fun it is to get involved, but they also get to socialize and meet individuals from all walks of life.
3. Check your credit card points and use them for things like groceries, gas, or fun family outings.
If you haven't yet switched to a credit card that earns you reward points as you spend, you're missing out. Not only do a lot of people use their credit cards to pay for monthly expenses, but even if they're able to pay them off right away, they still earn valuable points that can be turned into rewards in the form of gift cards.
This is where the fun comes in. Once or twice per year, depending on your credit card spending, you can log in to your credit card reward points account and start to pick out a few gift cards for anything from groceries to gas to flights or even a fun movie night out with the family. You're likely accumulating these reward points no matter what, so you might as well use them instead of cash for buying necessities or the occasional treat.
4. Have your kids help clip coupons and keep track of weekly specials before you hit up the grocery store every week.
Weekly or bi-weekly grocery shopping can easily become a painful task, especially if it’s just one person who is doing all of the meal planning and shopping each and every week. This is exactly where you can get the kids involved and allow their little crafting fingers to get to work.
If you receive any sort of flyers in the mail throughout the week, you’ll likely find some coupons enclosed that are good for anything from diapers to your favorite sweet treats. This is where you can have the kids go through them and see if there’s anything you need or any food items that they like with coupons or special sales available. If your grocery store uses an app or site, have the kids check those, too. There are also websites and apps like Rakuten that you can check out for extra savings while you shop.
5. Look at your monthly bills and cancel at least two to three subscriptions you don’t need.
When was the last time you went through your online statements and took a good hard look at some of the subscriptions you pay for but don’t actually need? Often, they tend to add up over time without us paying attention to the fact that we’re now signed up to four streaming services, three different workout classes, and four monthly box subscriptions that come in the mail. Money-wise, it all gets to be a little much.
A great place to start is the streaming services because you likely have your favorite one that you tune into regularly while one or two of the others are just watched once or twice a year when a good show comes back. If you’re looking to cut back and save, be sure to look at the workouts and fitness programs that really work for you in terms of how much time and energy you dedicate to them and simply cancel the rest. You will have a gut feeling about anything that no longer fits into your lifestyle seamlessly, and it’s a great way to get a little extra money in the bank every month.
6. Set up a carpool schedule with family and friends for school or sporting events to save on transportation costs.
If you stop to think about it, how many extracurricular activities do you have each week where you’re in the car driving across your area with the kids trying to get anywhere from soccer games to cheerleading? It not only takes up a good chunk of time but also gas. As parents, it’s our job to support our children’s passions and extra-curricular endeavors as well as safely get them there, but what about carpooling?
More often than not, our kids tend to gravitate toward extracurricular activities that their friends are into as well and you likely know or are even good friends with their parents. Or maybe they made a good friend in gymnastics class and between sleepovers and friend dates, you’ve also grown close to their mom. To save on gas money because along with everything else these days it is super expensive, why not schedule and switch off carpooling to your child’s practices with another parent? Not only will it give you extra time to accomplish things at home or work, but it’s also better for the environment to huddle everyone up and drive together.
7. Create a side hustle that the whole family can participate in.
We’ve all seen on social media and beyond the importance of having a side hustle these days, but when you’re a busy parent tending to multiple children and working a demanding job, that all seems a little impossible. The key thing to be thinking about if you’re a parent without a ton of extra time is to try to involve your family in your side hustle so that it’s fun for everyone.
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Anything from reaching out to neighbors and friends in your area for dog-walking or pet-sitting prospects for you and the kids to setting up a few garage sales for the spring and summer seasons to going through your closets and nabbing all of the clothing you’ve never worn and putting it up for sale online. Even putting your gardening or snow shoveling skills to the test for some of your elderly neighbors, there are so many things you can be doing as a family to help increase the household income.
8. Choose one day per week that is a finite no-spend day for the entire family.
There are always going to be necessities that your family absolutely must have. Everything from the mortgage or rent payments to food on the table or even a new pencil case for school. But have you paused to think about all of the little things that you and your family are spending money on each week that aren’t essentials?
Items like takeout coffee, buying your lunch multiple days per week, or stopping by the bakery for some fresh baked goods — they’re not absolute necessities that anyone needs, especially when they’re trying to save money. If you have trouble sticking to a no-fuss spending plan, it makes sense to sit down with your family and set out a strict no-spending day of the week. This means that everyone packs their lunch for school or work and finds things to do in their spare time that don’t cost money.
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